Statements, for example, credit card statement, as well as other types of business forms, are typically produced by printing a statement and inserting the statement, together with a separate return envelope, into an outgoing envelope. Thus, three separate pieces, an outgoing mail envelope, a business return envelope and the statement itself, are used. Personalized information is normally printed on the statement, such as account numbers, payments due, etc., and on the outgoing envelope. Portions of all three parts are also printed with non-personalized generic information, such as advertising information, the name and address of the company forwarding the statement, identifiers for the personalized information and other information. Separate processes and processing are required to print and collate statements of this type and this, of course, involves: substantial costs. It has been found highly desirable to form a single-part statement incorporating into a single-paper ply an outgoing mailing envelope, the statement itself, a payment coupon, if applicable, and a return envelope for the statement. Further, all necessary personalized information may be printed on the various panels of the single ply prior to folding and securing the panels to one another to form an outgoing mailer. Additionally, it is frequently desirable to provide loose inserts in the outgoing mailer for review and use by the recipient.
Still further, one of the many problems when using a return envelope containing a remittance or payment coupon, or both, is that, for high-volume mailers, high-speed letter openers are typically used to open the return envelopes. These openers typically cut off the top and side margins of the envelope in order to open the return envelope on three sides and enable extraction of its contents. Most openers are set to cut or slit at a distance approximately 1/64-inch from the sides and top of the envelope. However, in using the present mailer, the openers are preferably set at 1/4 inch to ensure complete removal of the marginal stubs of the return envelope. Glue systems for mailers and return envelopes, however, are not capable of controlling the width of glue strips or end seams within high tolerances. Ordinarily, the width of the glue on one side will vary substantially, for example, between 0.06 inches and 0.18 inches. As a consequence, inserts, such as a remittance and accompanying payment coupon, frequently tend to orient themselves toward one side of the return envelope and not infrequently are cut during the automatic mail opening process. These inserts, once removed from the envelopes, are normally read automatically by an optical system. Thus, any damage to the insert caused by opening the envelope makes the insert oftentimes unreadable by the optical system, necessitating further processing of the insert by hand.